Francisco Hernández

Francisco Hernández , born in 1514 in Puebla de Montalbán close to Tolède and died in 1578 in Madrid, is a Médecin and a Spanish Botaniste

He studies the Médecine with the university of Alcala and exerts several years with Tolède and Seville. He exerts then in the hospitals of the Monastery of Guadalupe, a prestigious and well paid function. He turns over to Tolède about the years 1565 but is transferred soon as doctor to the royal court.

Of a great scientific formation, it devotes much energy to the Natural history. It has a solid formation intellectual and scientific, and a mentality open to the innovations. It is chosen by Philippe II to direct an scientific exhibition in America and in particular in Nouvelle Spain. Hernández is seen offering 60.000 ducats to organize its voyage. In January 1570, the king names it protomédico general will nuestras Indias, islas will tierra firm LED mar Océano there. Hernández has in responsibility of carry out a newspaper of its discoveries while following the model of the Natural history of Pline Old the.

It leaves in August 1571, with his son, and unloads in February 1572 with Veracruz. During three years, he traverses the Central America but its notes on its observations did not reach us all. Forwarding includes/understands a geographer, painters, Botaniste S, indigenous doctors. As from March 1574 until its return in Spain in 1577, Hernández lives with Mexico City where it constitutes its collection, studies the local medical practices as well as the Archéologie. It pays with a considerable collection of plants dried or not, 38 volumes of drawings and notes including three writings in Nahuatl, language of the Aztèque S.

He dies before seeing appearing his work. Taking into account the cost of this one, Philippe II charges a Neapolitan editor, Nardi Antonio Recchi, to publish a shortened version of it. The originals preserved in the library of the Escurial disappeared, undoubtedly destroyed at the time of the fire of 1671. We thus know only bits, sometimes badly selected or retranscribed, of this immense work. Delays (the editor dies prematurely) will allow a publication only in 1635 and 1651.

Hernández describes 230 species of Oiseau X but the illustrations, lost, miss and make their determination very delicate. Fortunately, it quotes the names in nahuatl systematically often still of use today.

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